Chromatography and solid-phase extraction (“SPE”) are commonly-used separation techniques employed in a variety of analytical chemistry and biochemistry environments. Chromatography and SPE are often used for separation, extraction, and analysis of various constituents, or fractions, of a sample of interest. Chromatography and SPE may also be used for the preparation, purification, concentration, and clean-up of samples.
Chromatography and SPE relate to any of a variety of techniques used to separate complex mixtures based on differential affinities of components of a sample carried by a mobile phase with which the sample flows, and a stationary phase through which the sample passes. Typically, chromatography and SPE involve the use of a stationary phase that includes an adsorbent packed into a cartridge, column, or disposed as a thin layer on a plate. Thin-layer chromatography (“TLC”) employs a stationary phase that is spread in a thin layer on a carrier or substrate plate. A commonly-used stationary phase includes a silica-gel-based sorbent material.
Mobile phases are often solvent-based liquids, although gas chromatography typically employs a gaseous mobile phase. Liquid mobile phases may vary significantly in their compositions depending on various characteristics of the sample being analyzed and on the various components sought to be extracted and/or analyzed in the sample. For example, liquid mobile phases may vary significantly in pH and solvent properties. Additionally, liquid mobile phases may vary in their compositions depending on the characteristics of the stationary phase that is being employed. Often, several different mobile phases are employed during a given chromatography or SPE procedure.
A typical TLC plate is prepared by mixing an adsorbent (which acts as the stationary phase) with a small amount of an inert binder and water. The mixture may be spread as a relatively viscous slurry onto a carrier sheet. The resulting plate can then be dried and activated in an oven. The resulting stationary phase is bound in place to the carrier sheet or other substrate by the binder. The presence of the binder can lead to secondary interactions with the mobile phase, as well as a decrease in separation efficiency.